By James Wells in Berlin

BERLIN: The co-owner of Miele, Dr Markus Miele, congratulated the local subsidiary for generating double digit percentage growth over the last 12 months in an exclusive interview with Current.com.au at the IFA trade exhibition.

“Our Australian subsidiary has delivered double digit growth over the last year and is within our top 15 subsidiaries globally,” Miele told Current.com.au.

“Australia is likely to be a very good market for our refrigeration products and we have been lacking a refrigeration strategy for some time. We have recently introduced the Master Cool product into the US market and it will definitely be released in Australia. As there are different voltages and technical changes required, it has not yet been introduced into Australia.”

Dr Miele emphasised the importance of a collaborative approach to business for this growth to continue.

“We are business partners in this industry. We are giving and dealers are also asking for products. When you are climbing together everyone is moving up and like our slogan – Immer Besser (always better) – we get better together each year.

“With a partner you can achieve this. When only one person is making the effort, then this is not possible.”

Earlier this year during an interview with Current.com.au, Miele revealed plans for the company’s 40th subsidiary. There are now 42 separate countries selling Miele appliances including new subsidiaries in New Zealand, India, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia and the next target is 50.

In the interview Miele mentioned that the business would be shifting from being a German focused business to an internationally focused business.

Based on sales of 2.81 billion Euros for the financial year ending 30 June, Miele now generates 73 per cent of its income from international markets – an increase of one per cent. A decline in sales of 3.3 per cent was also a contributing factor. As the company is privately owned, exact financial data is not publicly available.

“I do have fears about a global recession brought on by the US banking crisis. Housing is down in the US, but we are happy with our numbers. There is a problem with the US currency and the Euro and we are not sure about a recession in UK, Europe, Spain and France. We have enjoyed good growth in Eastern Europe, Asia and Australia over the same period.”

One of the fastest growing subsidiaries for the business is Russia which is now within the top 10 businesses.